Jochebed: Mother of Leaders - Pastor Stacey Shiflett

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Watch Part 2 here:

Jochebed: Mother of Leaders

Exodus 6:20 And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.

Turn to Exodus 2:1-10

Intro: This woman was obviously an amazing mother.

JOCHEBED: "Jehovah is glory"

She bare Aaron and Moses.

Out of all the hundreds of thousands of men in Israel, God picked Aaron to be Moses’ mouthpiece in Exodus 3.

Aaron became the first High Priest of the nation of Israel.

Miram led the women in songs of praise in Exodus 15:20.

Moses was handpicked by God to deliver the nation of Israel from Egypt.

She must have been an exceptional mother to raise three exceptional children.

We get some insight into her character in Exodus chapter 1 and 2.

Let’s look at it.

  A. The Ungodly Directive – vs. 16 “…if it be a son, then ye shall kill him:”

Let me tell you something that you may or may not know: the Egyptians are STILL trying to kill your kids!

·        They are trying to destroy them with:

·        Ideology – socialism, Marxism, humanism, transgenderism,

·        Immorality – normalizing sins of sexual nature; fornication, homosexuality, adultery – making it acceptable

·        Indecency – saying and doing things that break every rule of decency

·        Impropriety – rudeness, disrespect; lack of manners;

·        Irreverence – no respect for God or the things of God

·        Irresponsibility – pushing a victim mentality in this society; putting the blame for personal failures on others.

One of the greatest days in your life as a parent is when you realize that EGYPT IS NOT YOUR FRIEND!!

Egypt is not the place to get advice on how to raise kids for God!

If you are Christian, every single one of your children have a bullseye painted on them.

They are the target of the devil and the world.

B. The Unflinching Defiance – vs. 17 “But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them,”

C. The Undeniable Difference – vs. 19 “…for the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women…”

I. She Saw his Potential

·        2 and when she saw him that he was a goodly child…

Too many people today have such twisted views of having a baby.

It is an Instagram goldmine.

They get caught up in baby showers and shopping sprees.

They obsess over decorating a nursery.

But many mothers fail to look at that new baby and see what God sees.

It is a human life with an eternal soul.

Jochebed saw that he was GOODLY child.

GOODLY: good, rich, valuable in estimation

Mama – what do you see when you look at your child?

·        More work?

·        More chores?

·        More cooking?

·        More laundry?

·        More messes to clean up?

·        Something that take away your freedom and personal time?

·        Or do you see a little person created in the image of God?

·        A boy that will one day be a husband?

·        A girl that will one day a wife?

·        A future daddy or a mama to your grandkids?

·        A future pastor or missionary or pastor’s wife or deacon’s wife?

·        A soulwinner? A vital part of the church? An asset to the kingdom of God?

·        A Sunday School teacher? A bus worker? A singer? Pianists?

She saw something that nobody else saw when she looked at Moses.

She saw something of great value; great estimation; rich and goodly.

Mama, if you don’t see that in your children, who will?

As a pastor, I have many times seen more potential in young people than their own parents!

II. She Sought his Protection

·        2 …she hid him three months

HID: to hide, treasure, treasure or store up

When you realize you’ve got something of great value, you hide it!

·        We keep baseball cards in plastic sleeves.

·        We keep coins in hard cases.

·        We wrap up our pocketknives and don’t touch them; to keep them from being tarnished.

·        We oil our guns and keep them under lock and key.

Not because we are ashamed of them; but to keep them protected!

You do everything you can to keep thieves and robbers from taking it away.

You hide your money; you lock up your valuables.

Too many parents today are leaving their children wide open to the filth of this world.

Their access to the internet, social media apps, wrong friends,

Keep them in church!

Put them in a Christian school.

Draw a tight circle around your children.

III. She Secured his Preservation

·        3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.

This ark is a type of salvation.

The typologies are astounding.

But let’s just look at a few of them:

1. There came a day when she had to give him to God.

2. She took for him an ark – same word for what Noah built for the saving of his family.

3. She daubed it with slime and pitch.

NOTE: First mention of the word ARK:

·        Genesis 6:14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

She DAUBED it – to be troubled; to make red; to seal

What a picture of salvation!

She could not save her child, but she knew who could!

She got to the point where she was troubled about his life.

It was no longer in her power to keep him safe.

Moses went from needing to be kept SAFE to needing to be SAVED.

One of these days your child will reach the age of accountability.

They will need to be placed in the ARK and SEALED by the blood of Jesus Christ.

The word BULRUSHES in this verse is translated rush, reed, papyrus

NOTE: Paper used in the manuscripts came from papyrus.

In my research, I discovered the earliest known use of papyrus dates back to around 3000 BC in ancient Egypt.

·        Primary Use: Egyptians used it for writing, including administrative records, religious texts, literature, and personal documents.

·        Material: Made from the papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus), which grew abundantly along the Nile River.

·        Export: Egypt became the main supplier of papyrus to other Mediterranean cultures, including the Greeks and Romans.

Jochebed took the bulrushes (papyrus plant) and carefully and systematically weaved an ark that could facilitate the salvation of her son.

She agonized and prayed and labored and made sure to daub it inside and out with the red pitch.

And she put the child within.

That child was surrounded by the papyrus and the red pitch.

What a picture!!

Part 2

Exodus 2

IV. She Supervised his Progress

·        5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.

·        6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children.

·        7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?

·        8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child’s mother.

·        9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it.

The last verse in chapter 1 tells us that Pharaoh charged all this people to cast the Hebrew boys into the river.

And now here is Jochebed – putting her son in the very waters that are destroying the other boys.

Whether they drowned or whether the alligators got them, she was relinquishing her son to that very river.

Don’t come to me and tell me it’s not possible to raise godly kids in this world. It is!

Don’t come to me and tell me that the odds are stacked too high.

She didn’t turn her boy over to the river and then leave it up to God.

A. The Following that she Implemented

·        4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.

She SUPERVISED him.

She kept an eye on him.

She had a network to keep an eye on him.

He was never out of sight.

There was not one thing that would happen to him that she wouldn’t know about it.

SEE – vs. 4 to wit what would be done to him.

·        Proverbs 29:15 …a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.

Know who your children are with.

Know who their friends are.

Know the parents of their friends.

Know what is in their room. It’s YOUR room if you’re paying the rent!

Know what they are listening to.

Know what they are looking at.

Know where they go and who all is there.

Know where they are spiritually.

Watch them during church.

Watch them during the altar call.

Watch them at the altar. Are they playing or praying?

Watch them during the song service. Are they singing or daydreaming?

Watch them during the preaching. Are they paying attention or acting up?

Watch them after church. Who are they with? What are they doing?

She implemented a number of methods to oversee his continued protection and progress.

B. The Feeding that she Invested

God in His Providence let her nurse and feed her son.

NOTICE: Miriam knew that Pharaoh’s daughter couldn’t give her brother what he needed.

Miriam inserted herself into the situation.

Give Miriam credit for not thinking very highly of the Egyptian’s ability to feed that baby boy!

God gave Moses’ mother what he needed.

It was not anybody else’s place to nurse him; it was hers.

Don’t give your children to Egypt to do the feeding.

Don’t give your children to Hollywood to do the feeding.

Don’t even give your children to the church and the school – it’s your job!!

We can help you do your job, but it is your job!!

That prodigal son got to missing the bread at the father’s house while he was in that hogpen!

The husks and the slop of the world won’t hold a candle to the bread from the father’s house!

The feeding that your kids get at home ought to be stuck in their minds forever!

NOTE: Pharaoh’s daughter gave her wages; but she couldn’t give her son what he needed.

You might make a living in Egypt, but don’t let them feed your kids!!

C. The Foundation that she Initiated

It was during this time of nursing and nurturing that she instilled in him the foundation of his faith.

No doubt Pharaoh and his wise men poured everything they had into Moses.

Look at Acts 7

·        22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

For nearly forty years, he learned all the wisdom of the Egyptians.

But it never drowned out what his mama taught him as a baby.

According to Acts 7:25, he was ready to overthrow Pharaoh when he was 40.

But God had some things he needed to learn.

·        23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

·        24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:

·        25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.

But the book of Hebrews is very clear – he wasn’t impressed with Egypt.

He wasn’t impressed that he was a Prince of Egypt.

He wasn’t impressed with being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.

Look at Hebrews 11:

·        24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;

There came a day when Moses looked at Pharaoh’s daughter and said “You’re not my mama!!!”

My mother is Jochebed!

I’m out of here! I’m rather suffer with the people of God than to live here any more!!

·        25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

·        26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Look at verse 23: By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.

Now look at verse 27: By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king:

Because his parents didn’t fear the king, Moses didn’t fear the king.

Don’t tell me that Jochebed didn’t lay a foundation in that boy’s heart!!!